A dragonfly, seen by Cyndi Brast when she was taking a walk out near Roche Harbor...

Let’s get the week going here….

• I know you’re getting ready for the Fair – everybody is – but have you thought about where you’re gonna PARK? Scratch that off your list – here’s more from Kelly Snow:

Bob Otis (out at the lighthohuse with Josie) just finished his twentieth year of volunteering to monitor orca behavior at Lime Kiln State Park. Every summer Bob recruits interns from Ripon College where he teaches to come out & chart what the killer whales are up to.

Friday Harbor High School Band Families & Friends will be hosting parking at the Fair, Weds. 8/18 and Thurs. 8/19 for just $5.00, directly across from the Main Entrance on Argyle.

Proceeds will go towards our April 2011 trip to Hawaii!

We are very excited about this trip, where we will attend a music clinic at the University of Hawaii, perform at Ala Moana Shopping Center and with a local school in Kona, attend a music clinic at the University of Hawaii, visit Pearl Harbor and Kilauea volcano, and much more!

Please consider parking at our lot while you are at the Fair! For information about our organization or this trip, please contact Kelly Snow at kelly (at) sanjuanislands.com.

Getting things going at Village at the Harbour...Anne & Ish

• Over at Village at the Harbor Assisted Living, Seanene tells me she has just taken on a couple of great ones - Ish Jones (right) has begun working there as activities director, and Anne Benedict is handling the marketing chores.

They both tell me they’re loving working there & working together, and hope you’ll come by and see the place soon (it’s a great operation – you’ll be glad you did!)

• Proud grandma Ruthie sent over the news:

Wyatt!

Anne and Adam Paull are proud to announce the birth of their son, Wyatt Robert Paull on July 3, 2010.  Adam Paull is a 1999 graduate of Friday Harbor High School.

Wyatt is welcomed by grandparents Ruthie and Jim Paull of Friday Harbor and Linda and Bob Tremblay of Grand Blanc, Michigan, and great-grandma Geraldine Lawson of Friday Harbor.

• Speaking of the San Juan County Fair, you know you can get all the info you need – schedules, rides, auctions, entertainment – the whole shootin’ match – online at the Fair’s website. Check it out, print out the parts you need, and see ya there!

Seems like he's everywhere - because he is. Steve Keys played with his new band Saturday at the Rumor Mill, hosted Acoustic Night at the Peppermill on Friday night, usually helps out with Blues night, and will be playing with at least a couple of bands at the Fair this week. In kindergarten, you can always tell the nicest kids, because everybody wants to play with 'em - same is true with Steve - everybody wants to have him around. Great player, great guy. See him soon at a stage near you.

Lime Kiln Light house at sunset...photo by Michele Wassell

This beautiful photo was taken a couple of weeks ago by photographer Michele Wassell when she was visiting the islands & out on a whale watching trip with Jim Maya.

She has beautiful photos, and she has a beautiful thing going on with her daughter, Kayla. It’s a great story of the great love a mom has for her girl…

Breaching earlier this week in the Strait of Georgia....photo by Monika Wieland

I love Monika Wieland‘s photos – she has a great eye for killer whales & other wildlife, and makes beautiful photographic art with the results. Here’s her blog with more…way to go, Monika!

Setting in the west....

And so the seasons go ’round….that’s the sunset from Lime Kiln Saturday, setting over Canada….

And…because I like you (and I know how you are), click here to get one that’s huge, and you can use for a screensaver.

Flying high...photo by Traci Walter

I love it when people send me pictures of how nice it is in this area we live in….thanks for sharing, my friends.

Tulips in Skagit Valley last month, on the way to the ferry...photos by Kevin Holmes.

Tulips in Mount Vernon last month...photo by Kevin Holmes

Ace drew a mob to its Grand Opening....

Couple of weekends ago it was awesome & well-attended – the new version of Ace Hardware opened to great crowds, great reviews, and good weather to boot.

The part I liked best (besides all the smiling people) was the guy doing chainsaw sculpting…that’s a bear he made, the first day. Wahoo!

Once mere wood...now, a bear.

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Gathering clouds in the center of the island....by Sandy Buckley

To see this photo by Sandy Buckley a bit larger, click here. You can check out her other work at her website – thanks, Sandy!

Our island is beautiful from above...looking out over False Bay. Photo by Ken Olson.

This is a photo that Ken Olson shot when he went for plane ride with Peter Wangoe last summer….

Click here to see a huge, wonderful screen-filling version. Which rocks. Bigtime.

Wendell & Renee

It’s always fun to see the island you love in photos…Wendell Beitzel was here over the weekend of the sixth, and he took some awesome photos of the birds & the harbor & the westside & of his girlfriend Renee. And more.

Take a moment to look through these…you’ll be glad you did! (Check ‘em out here!)

Jaida in the sun....

That’s Jaida playing at the playground, in a photo by Jodi Calohan.

Sunny days – get outside & play!

Sunset over the santuary at Jackson's Beach last night...

What’s going on around here….

• Yvonne at the post office tells me yesterday was Donna Tagnell‘s birthday (she’s the one who always remembers YOUR birthday, you know), and today Jim Cole turns 44.

Eddie R (L) and Eddie W (R)....

• Making Ed lines: They work kind of across the street from each other, but I had never seen Eddie Rivera (Sotheby’s/Coldwell Banker) and Eddie Williams (The Hot Shop) in one spot. Till now.

• Ever look at the police reports on other islands? Here’s the one from Whidbey. Don’t drink your coffee while you’re reading it, or you’ll have it coming out your nose…

• Our bunnies made Newsweek, which paints ‘em as destructo-rabbits. Here’s more (not much – it’s pretty short.)

• Leslie at the Animal Shelter is celebrating Spay Day next week (you should, too!) – here’s more:

Tuesday Feb 23rd is the Humane Society’s National Spay Day
Celebrate National ‘Spay Day’ at the 2nd ANNUAL ‘SPAY”GHETTI DINNER

You'll get yours....

The Friday Harbor Animal Shelter will be holding its 2nd Annual ‘Spay’Ghetti Dinner on Tuesday Feb 23rd at the Mullis Center from 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm. Enjoy great food (both meat and vegetarian spaghetti available), live music performed by Terry Lush and Erin Quinn and lots of good conversation with friends. All proceeds benefit the animal shelter’s Spay / Neuter Programs. Tickets available at the door. Adults $10 Kids (10 and under) $5. For more information contact the shelter at 378-2158.

• Tonight at the Labs: George Hunt, Research Professor, UW Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, will be the third speaker in the 2010 Arthur Whiteley Lecture Series sponsored by San Juan Nature Institute in collaboration with UW Friday Harbor Labs. At 7 p.m. in The Commons at the Labs, he will discuss Seasonal sea ice cover and the production of walleye pollock in the Bering Sea: Implications of warming.

• First Aid/CPR classes with Island Rec: Be prepared for an injury or life-threatening emergency that could take place in your home or workplace.  Island Rec is offering a First Aid Class on Monday, March 22 and CPR on Wednesday, March 24.  Both classes meet at the Aid Unit on Spring Street and run from 5:30-9:30 pm.    Participants can register for either or both classes.  Cost is $25 per class and pre-registration is required.   Registration forms are available in Island Rec’s Winter/Spring Program Guide and from www.islandrec.org, Call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information or stop by 580 Guard Street, 1-5 pm from Monday through Friday.

I lost count, but I think there is something like 150 island couples in this little vid, put together by me with help from Sophie Rice. It’s got love – from little islanders to alpaca-love (never before seen footage) to old married couples who still have the glow…

For the music, I chose a special piece…Whisperings solo piano artist (and FHHS ’87 grad) Joe Bongiorno recreated one of my songs “There May Come A Time,” from the Love You on the Run CD ) as a solo piano piece that I just love, and I hope you do too.

I was playing with a little thing called Animoto (check it out at animoto.com) which lets you put pictures & tunes together….so I took a bunch of photos from 2009 & put ‘em together with one of my songs (thus avoiding copyright probs)…see what you think!

Here’s the show:

Friends around the island this year....

Lots of people like to look back at the events of the year…I guess I prefer to look back over the folks that make up the tapestry this island weaves around us.

See who you know!

Throughout the year, I get to put together galleries of people doing what we do here, so I thought I’d take a moment & put ‘em all in one place to show you.

See what you think. See whom you know. And notice that folks sure seem to find a lot to smile about around here.

The Father/Daughter Dance

The Whale Museum’s
Black & White Dinner 2009

Christmas at the Library
with preschool kids

The Commodore’s Ball

The Fairly Outrageous Fashion Trashion Show
(at the Fair)

San Juan Dragons Lacrosse 2009

The Festival of Trees Celebration
at the Community Theatre

The 8.8 Loop Run
(Island Rec’s run at the Fair)

Friday Harbor High Graduation 2009

The Island Artisans’ Holiday Marketplace
(the two days after Thanksgiving)

The San Juan County Fair
(faces at the Fair)

Spring Street International School
& Skagit Valley College Graduation

Halloween:
Kids & Really Big Kids

The Children’s Festival

FHHS Boys Soccer 2009

The Fourth of July
(Gallery One & Gallery Two)

The K-9 Carnival

Up on the roof....

Those were the seagulls poised on Carla Higginson’s place across from the high school on Saturday….photo shot by San Juan Update wildlife photographer Josie Byington.

Port McNeill

That’s Port McNeill in British Columbia, by photographer Sandy Buckley.

Port McNeill

That’s Port McNeill in British Columbia, by photographer Sandy Buckley.

Paddling on the west side of the island....

As we approach solstice this weekend, it’s nice to remember the warm days of summer…and what better way to remember them with photos of kayaking in the sun. I love Caitlin Strasser’s eye in shooting these pictures, and appreciate that she’s letting us share them. Way to go, Caitlin!

The peaceful part of the day....photos by Caitlin Strasser